A high-stakes battle over the party symbol of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has come to the forefront, as two powerful rebel blocs within the party prepare to challenge the leadership of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee by staking claim to the ‘Twin Flowers’ symbol.
Defying the decisions of the party high command, dissident factions have emerged both in the West Bengal Assembly and in the Lok Sabha. In the Assembly, Ritabrata Banerjee has already secured recognition as the Leader of the Opposition. In Parliament, Chief Whip Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar is now set to seek formal recognition for an NDA-aligned bloc from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
Sources in the TMC’s rebel bloc indicate that both factions plan to unite and establish themselves as the “real” Trinamool Congress, arguing that the current leadership represents a “minority” within the party. If the Lok Sabha Speaker recognises Kakoli’s faction, it could significantly weaken the authority of Mamata and Abhishek within both legislative and parliamentary structures.
The rebels’ next step, according to sources, would be to approach the Election Commission of India with a claim over the party’s name, symbol, and organisational control. Their case will hinge on numerical strength.
In the Assembly, out of 80 elected TMC MLAs, more than 60 are reportedly aligned with Ritabrata’s camp. In the Lok Sabha, over 20 of the 28 TMC MPs are said to support Kakoli’s bloc— giving the dissidents a clear majority across both platforms.
Armed with this arithmetic, the rebels intend to argue that they are legally entitled to the party’s symbol under established precedents. The strategy draws heavily from the Shiv Sena split in Maharashtra involving Eknath Shinde, as well as the Supreme Court’s observations in the symbol dispute case adjudicated by a bench led by former Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, which emphasised legislative majority as a determining factor.
According to sources within the BJP, this roadmap was thoroughly examined during a key meeting at the Delhi residence of Union Minister Bhupender Yadav.
However, political observers caution that the battle is unlikely to be resolved quickly. The current leadership is expected to mount a strong legal challenge if the party’s identity comes under threat. The dispute could escalate from the Election Commission to the Supreme Court of India.
Experts estimate that the legal and political confrontation may take four to five months to reach a final resolution, setting the stage for one of the most significant intra-party conflicts in West Bengal’s recent political history.
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